Netflix has opened the wardrobe door. The streamer has released the first official trailer for Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, Greta Gerwig’s lavish fantasy epic that will debut in IMAX and theaters worldwide on February 12, 2027 — with IMAX sneak previews beginning February 10 — before arriving on Netflix on April 2, 2027.
The trailer, unveiled this week alongside the film’s first poster, is the first real footage from what is arguably the most anticipated Netflix original movie ever made. It also marks Gerwig’s first film since 2023’s Barbie, which grossed $1.44 billion and earned a Best Picture Academy Award nomination — a follow-up act with genuinely enormous expectations.
What the trailer reveals: a rock-opera Narnia
Gerwig has described her vision for the film as a “rock opera,” telling Empire that Narnia is “literally a world made out of music” — a concept rooted in the book itself, where Aslan sings the world into existence. The trailer takes that idea seriously: it is scored by Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” a licensing placement the band’s catalog very rarely permits for movie soundtracks, and one that turns the preview into an event in itself.
The visuals lean into the glam-rock aesthetic. Gerwig has borrowed from David Bowie to give Aslan heterochromia, a red stripe across his face and multicolored whiskers; Emma Mackey’s mirrored costume as Jadis channels the same glittering era; and the elaborate set dressing around Daniel Craig’s Uncle Andrew evokes the theatrical excess of Ken Russell’s 1975 rock opera Tommy. The result is a Narnia that looks like nothing the franchise has attempted before — less stately period fantasy, more cosmic spectacle.
The cast and crew
Newcomers David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell lead the film as Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer, the two London children at the heart of the story. Around them, the ensemble is stacked: Emma Mackey plays Jadis, the future White Witch — a performance she has described as “all chaos and bad plans” — while Daniel Craig portrays Uncle Andrew, the would-be magician whose experiments set the plot in motion.
Carey Mulligan plays Digory’s mother, and Meryl Streep voices Aslan, the lion who creates Narnia. The supporting cast includes Ciarán Hinds, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Denise Gough and Susan Wokoma. Cinematography comes from Seamus McGarvey, whose credits include Nocturnal Animals and Anna Karenina, and Gerwig co-produces alongside Amy Pascal, Vincent Sieber-Smith and Mark Gordon.
Why this adaptation matters
The Magician’s Nephew is the sixth book C.S. Lewis published in the series — it first appeared in 1955 — but the first in the story’s own chronology. It explains how Aslan created Narnia, where the White Witch came from, and why there is a lamppost standing in the middle of a wood. Remarkably, it has never been adapted for the screen before.
The project is the fourth live-action Narnia adaptation, following Walden Media’s earlier trilogy, and it stems from a 2018 agreement between Netflix and the C.S. Lewis Company to produce new adaptations of Lewis’s work. The story itself is tailor-made for Gerwig’s sensibilities: two children, Digory and Polly, use magical rings to reach the Wood Between the Worlds, accidentally wake the exiled Queen Jadis in the dying world of Charn, and arrive in an empty void just in time to watch Aslan sing Narnia into being.
The scale is reportedly enormous — the film is said to carry a budget in the region of $280 million — and the first poster, built around a lion silhouette formed from a starfield with the tagline “A Universe Begins,” promises exactly the kind of world-building the trailer delivers.
What it means and what’s next
The release plan is the real story beyond the trailer. Netflix is giving the film its widest theatrical rollout to date: a seven-week window that begins with IMAX-exclusive previews on February 10, goes wide on February 12, and only reaches streaming on April 2. For a company that has historically limited theatrical runs to awards-qualifying engagements, this is a genuine strategic shift — and a vote of enormous confidence in Gerwig’s film.
If the trailer’s reception is any guide, that confidence is warranted. The “Stairway to Heaven” sync alone has turned a routine trailer drop into a cultural talking point, and February 2027 now has a tentpole that could anchor the entire month. The next milestone to watch: the film’s world premiere, and whether Gerwig’s rock-opera Narnia can convert its spectacle into the franchise-launching hit Netflix clearly believes it has.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was the Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew trailer released?
Netflix released the first official trailer on October 14, 2026, a day after unveiling the film’s first poster.
When does Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew release in theaters?
It opens in IMAX and theaters worldwide on February 12, 2027, with IMAX sneak previews beginning February 10, 2027.
When does Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew release on Netflix?
The film begins streaming on Netflix on April 2, 2027, after its theatrical window.
Who voices Aslan in The Magician’s Nephew?
Meryl Streep voices Aslan, the lion who sings Narnia into existence.
Who plays the White Witch in The Magician’s Nephew?
Emma Mackey plays Jadis, the future White Witch, while newcomers David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell lead as Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer. Daniel Craig plays Uncle Andrew, the magician of the title.
Who directed Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew?
Greta Gerwig wrote and directed the film — her first feature since Barbie (2023).